


Key to the Kingdom

by whitherwaywill



Series: within the confines of canon [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Dursley Family (Harry Potter), BAMF Ginny Weasley, Dursley Family Bashing (Harry Potter), F/M, Gen, Ginny Weasley is a Good Friend, The Cupboard Under The Stairs (Harry Potter), the dursleys are dicks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitherwaywill/pseuds/whitherwaywill
Summary: It's been a long summer, and Harry is relieved to be at Grimmauld Place - but he can't forget the Dursleys.
Series: within the confines of canon [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739902
Comments: 2
Kudos: 116





	Key to the Kingdom

Harry could see why Sirius hated Grimmauld Place.

The place was - well, grim. Layers of dust had long since settled over everything in the building, and the air itself was tinged with grey. A lingering sort of darkness pervaded every room, settling on Harry’s chest and making it difficult for him to breathe.

He was on his own, for now. With so many people coming and going, it was impossible to be alone for long. Downstairs, Molly Weasley was waging her own personal battle against the grime and pests that had settled in every nook and cranny of Grimmauld Place. Every now and then, her shrill voice floated up to Harry, as she admonished one of the children she had conscripted to cleaning.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Harry was hiding. From Mrs. Weasley, from Sirius, from Ron, from Hermione... He had crept up the stairs, level by level, seeing how high he could climb before reaching the top of Sirius’ townhouse. Harry knew he was in the wrong, at least a little bit, for blowing up at his friends so soon after leaving the Dursleys. But it was hard to keep it all in - to conceal from his friends just how hard it was to return to Petunia and Vernon’s house, year after year.

Now, he knew Ron and Hermione were tiptoeing around him, waiting for him to crack again. He could feel it. Harry shook his head, huffing. His breath puffed into the air, disturbing dust motes that Mrs. Weasley hadn’t got to yet.

It appeared he had reached the top of the townhouse. As he climbed, the stairs had gotten flimsier and skinnier, until they ended in a small platform with a small window, and a trapdoor on the ceiling that led to the attic.

Harry walked over to the window. The floorboards creaked under his feet, in such a way that he wondered if he should be worried about falling through. A hint of a smile slunk onto his face, and he sat down, looking out the window.

The outside world was blurry, obscured by filth. Harry sighed. He reached into his pocket, and dragged out a key. The cheap brass glinted in the weak light. Harry’s fingers moved across the grooves, following the shape of the key - a shape that Harry had memorized, long ago.

“Harry?”

Harry jumped, fumbling for his wand as he turned. Ginny stood behind him, almost to the top of the stairs. She grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry - did I startle you?”

Harry smiled, running his fingers through his hair. “No,” he denied. “I was just...thinking.”

Ginny nodded, climbing the last few steps to the platform. “I saw you leave... I thought I’d give you a few minutes, then come get you before Mum can send anyone searching.” Her eyes zeroed in on the key in Harry’s hand. “What’s that?”

“This? Oh - uh,” Harry lifted the key, looking at it as though it were his first time seeing it. “It’s just a key. An old key.”

Ginny smiled, walking over and sitting cross-legged next to Harry. She shrugged her hair over her shoulder, almost knocking her head on the window ledge. “What’s it for?”

Harry cleared his throat, turning the key over in his hand. “The cupboard under the stairs,” he said quietly.

Ginny’s mouth dropped open. She closed it, searching for something to say. “Oh,” she managed, the word escaping in a breath.

“Yeah,” Harry forced a laugh. “I stole it from Uncle Vernon when I was nine. I had just gotten out - they had locked me in for some reason or another, kept me in there for days, I think. I remember thinking that maybe if they didn’t have the key, they wouldn’t lock me in again.”

Ginny stayed silent, watching Harry with wide eyes. He stared at the key, head bowed.

“It didn’t work, obviously,” he said finally. “They just got another key made.”

“But you kept this one,” Ginny finished.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “I did.” He turned his head, focusing his gaze on her. “It’s a reminder, I guess. You can find a way to escape your cage, but your captors can always change the lock.”

Ginny gaped at him. “Harry - you do know that this isn’t a cage, right? You’re here because we want you here, but you can always leave. Dumbledore can always find somewhere else, if you’re feeling trapped.”

He huffed. “Right. Of course.” Standing, he shoved the key back in his pocket, and reached out a hand to Ginny. “We should go back down. Your mum’ll be worried.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “You know if we go down there, Mum will force us to help clear out the Doxies.”

Harry gave her half of a smile. His hand was still waiting in front of her. “That’s what mums do, isn’t it? Force you to help clean?”

Ginny sighed, then gave him her hand. He pulled her to her feet, and they started down the stairs.

Just before they reached the second to last landing, Ginny paused, tugging Harry to a stop.

“Harry,” she said. “You’re a wizard. There is no lock that can stop you now.”

Harry grinned, finally giving her a real smile. “I know,” he said. “But that won’t stop people from trying.”


End file.
